


When The Darkness Rolls Away

by koalathebear



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Folk Music, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:33:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5882830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a short scribble inspired by this gifset <a href="http://jojendreams.tumblr.com/post/138345662153/star-wars-au-poe-dameron-is-a-struggling-folk">here</a>. "Star Wars AU | Poe Dameron is a struggling folk singer who keeps going because this girl always shows up when he performs. He doesn’t know the name of his silent supporter though."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Countin' Troubles

**Author's Note:**

> Name of the cafe is based on ["The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2e9wWFg-pI) by John Prine and the chapter titles are all from a Kate Wolf song called "Across the Great Divide." I first heard the [Nanci Griffith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyqgWYIVgQI) version but was listening to [this male vocalist cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNtU5NUQ_lQ) when writing this fic
> 
> I haven't really written an au for Rey/Poe before so this is new territory.
> 
> Inspired in part (of course) by the awesome movie Inside Llewyn Davis - but if the singer was played by a more optimistic Poe than a grumpy, jaded Llewyn :)

The walk to _The Sound of Loneliness Café_ always took Poe past a small park that usually had a group of kids kicking a soccer ball around on the faded grass. Sometimes a dog would be running around with the kids and now and then, skateboarders would be hurtling past without paying any heed to life, limb or the hapless pedestrians who were just trying to get from point A to B.

Walking past a park bench, he noticed a familiar dark-haired young woman in a black sweater who was staring straight ahead into the distance. Her hair fell about her narrow shoulders and her thoughts seemed a world away. He walked past her, not making eye contact and walked through the doors of the _Loneliness_ despite the 'CLOSED' sign in the glass. He took care not to let his guitar collide with the door frame as he walked into the still-dark café. The place smelled of coffee, spilled beer and the scented candles that they lit when it grew dark in the evenings.

Finn was there already setting up and he nodded at the man who doubled as both bar tender and wait staff when needed. "Hey - sorry I'm late man – meant to get here earlier."

Finn lifted his eyebrows. "Don't apologise to me, it's the General you've got to grovel to," Finn retorted as he lifted another chair down from a table.

"What's happened today?" Poe asked warily as he put his guitar on stage and returned to help his friend lift all the chairs and bar stools down from the tables.

"What do you think?" Finn asked him grimly.

"Son or ex-husband."

"Both," Finn replied, with a wealth of feeling in his voice.

"Shit." Poe swore beneath his breath, sympathy in his dark eyes. 

"Yeah, no kidding," Finn replied. The last time Ben Solo had come by the _Loneliness_ , Finn had managed to break up the fight – but it had resulted in a late night visit to the emergency department. He'd recovered quickly but the long scar on his back was going to be with him until the day he died. Solo had gone to rehab but was back on the street and back on the drugs as soon as he'd been released and the tall, thin young man had been pretty strung out when he'd staggered in earlier that day.

"What'd he want?"

"Money of course. In the end, Han came to get him but there were words."

"OK, I'll look in on her," Poe replied and Finn nodded. 

"Be careful."

"Hey I know what I'm doing," Poe replied tersely.

Poe walked into the back room and waited for a second for his eyes to get adjusted to the darkness. Leia Organa was sitting at her desk, head in her hands. Thick, brown hair threaded with grey, she kept it braided tightly and coiled around her head like a crown. Small but fierce, she was the strongest woman Poe had ever met and he'd seen her go toe to toe with drunken giants in her café without betraying a flicker of fear.

"Go away, I'm fine," she told him tersely without turning around.

"I hope that's tea," he remarked, indicating the glass filled with an amber liquid on the desk in front of her. It appeared untouched but the sight of the liquor was concerning nonetheless.

She turned her head and her large dark eyes were filled with pain. "Being back here means I want to be alone." Her voice was hoarse and trembling.

"Just checking in on you, General."

"I told you not to call me that. I'm not bossy," she snapped in a tone which indicated the reverse. She rose to her feet and she was wearing her customary faded blue jeans and plaid shirt that gave her the look of a fierce cowgirl. "Finn's got a big mouth."

"Finn cares about you – we both do."

She gave a snort and Poe continued. "What can I do to help?"

She gave a crooked smile. "You do enough," she told him, a shadow in her eyes. She'd lost track of the number of times Poe Dameron had gone searching through the back streets for her son … through the stinking dumpsters … going into the darkness of the underpasses where the homeless lived. He'd never failed her, not once – he'd always managed to find Ben Solo and get him back to her … to safety. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. We've got bad blood in the family. His grandfather was an addict … " she glanced over at the glass on her desk. "Luke and I resist but it's not easy."

"Doesn't help that he keeps falling in with the wrong crowd," Poe pointed out gently. 

Leia exhaled slowly. "Anyway, how did the meeting go?" she asked him.

Poe gave a regretful shake of his head. "They listened to my demo … but claim my style of folk just isn't "in" any more … they gave me some suggestions for how to try a rockabilly country style …"

Leia laughed. "Somehow, I can't see you as the new Blake Shelton," she remarked, staring at the young man in front of her with his heavy-lidded dark eyes and dark wavy hair that fell back from a quietly defiant face.

"You saying I'm not versatile?" he asked her with a grin as he walked with her back into the main room of the café.

"Not saying that at all," she retorted.

"Well it's about time you both came back to help me out here. Am I supposed to open up alone?" Finn demanded comically. "The evening crowd's going to be here soon."

"Hey – what am I? Chopped liver?" Jess demanded from the corner where she was lighting candles.

"I'm doing all the heavy lifting," Finn retorted. "You're just lightin' candles."

Poe bit back a smile at the back and forth between the two. They'd been sniping at one another as long as he'd known them but he also knew that Jess had been unwilling to leave Finn's side when he'd been in the hospital following his knife injury.

"Hey Poe – your fan's outside on the bench again," Jess pointed out.

"She'll come in when the music starts," Finn remarked.

"Worst tipper in the world, she only ever buys a soda or a cup of coffee …" Jess complained, rolling her eyes. "I don't even know why Leia lets her stay for so long …"

"Be nice – she's clearly here for the music," Finn pointed out.

"Yeah, please be nice to my one and only fan," Poe joked but his gaze flickered out to the figure still sitting on the bench on her own. For as long as he could recall now, she'd sit outside the _Loneliness_ and wait for it to open. He'd never seen anyone listen with such intensity and he'd never seen anyone who exuded such an air self-contained and quiet solitude. She'd come in and listen to his set, taking her time over her one drink and her eyes would never leave his face. Tonight would be no different.


	2. A Story I Used To Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the mournful lyrics, he was smiling when he looked up and glanced around the room. The patrons were as they always were - half of them were oblivious to the music, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. The others were listening, in particular the dark-haired girl who was watching him, her large eyes not moving from his face, seemingly mesmerised by the sound of his singing.

Impulsively, Poe decided to sing the John Prine song for which the café was named. He lowered his head, his foot keeping time as his fingers strummed the strings of his battered but most beloved old guitar.

_So what in the world's come over you_  
And what in heaven's name have you done  
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness  
You're out there running just to be on the run… 

Despite the mournful lyrics, he was smiling when he looked up and glanced around the room. The patrons were as they always were - half of them were oblivious to the music, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. The others were listening, in particular the dark-haired girl who was watching him, her large eyes not moving from his face, seemingly mesmerised by the sound of his singing.

When the song finished and there was a spatter of half-hearted applause. Poe smiled crookedly, undeterred and undaunted by the quietness of the response.

_I've been walkin' in my sleep_  
Countin' troubles 'stead of countin' sheep  
Where the years went I can't say  
I just turned around and they've gone away … 

The song, written by a woman worked just as well in a man's voice and he lowered his head and strummed before starting the next verse. The light above him shone down on him but Leia deliberately kept the lighting of the café dim – for mood and atmosphere, and he could still see the members of the 'audience'. In particular, he could see the girl with the dark eyes still listening with an intensity that was as flattering as it was disconcerting.

When he had finished his set, he thanked everyone and rose to his feet. "Did you enjoy the tunes tonight?" he asked, coming to stand by her table where she sat alone. There was a half-empty glass of soda on the table in front of her and she looked startled at his approach and even more startled by his question. He'd never approached her before, just left her to her own devices. Even Jess and Finn who were normally chatty with the clientele tended to leave her alone – something about her projecting an aura of not wanting to engage.

"Yes. That's why I keep coming back," she replied bluntly, her gaze meeting his squarely. That made him smile.

"Well congratulations on being one of the only people in the room who is actually listening to the music - usually I’m just white noise," he told her with a crooked smile.

"No - your music is beautiful," she told him sincerely and he found himself believing her.

"Finn!" he called out to his friend. "A drink here for my one and only fan. It's on the house," he told her.

"On the house?" Finn demanded in a comical voice. "Are you kidding? There's no way! We’re gonna go out of business if you start giving drinks away like that. You can buy the girl a drink but I'm docking your pay."

The girl laughed. "It's ok Mr Dameron - you really don't have to buy me a drink."

"But I _want_ to buy you a drink … and for God's sake, please don't call me Mr Dameron. I'm just Poe." 

He gestured at the empty chair across from her. "Ok if I sit?"

"Of course."

"You know, you should just come on in when you see that we're setting up - you don't have to sit alone outside."

She smiled. "I'm used to being alone - I don't mind it."

There was something very bittersweet about her smile. She put her hand up to push a strand of hair away from her face and her sleeve slid down her arm, revealing long-healed but noticeable scars on her thin arms. Her smile faded when she saw him looking.

"Long story," she told him briefly, but there was no defensiveness in her gaze.

"I can imagine," he answered gently. He didn't pursue the topic and let her lead the conversation.

"That song you sing - the one about being lost on a deep green blue sea that's pulling you down beneath the water … and not knowing which way is the shore … did you write that?

 

Poe nodded. "It came into my head one day … on one of my postings. there's not a lot else to do on those long missions when you're out at sea."

"You were in the Navy?"

"Naval engineer."

"And now?"

"Had enough of being on the water all the time … so I came back here to see if I could do something else with my life."

"And?" she asked curiously.

"Still a work in progress," he told her ruefully. "You sure ask a lot of questions."

"I'm Rey," she told him without his asking and he could see the warm look of shy admiration in her eyes. It was very flattering although he knew that he would not be pursuing anything with her. She looked far too young, far too fragile and far too beautiful for the likes of him.

"Here are your drinks people. On the house!" Finn announced loudly as he set down two glasses of tap water with a flourish. He grinned at them both, particularly at Rey.

"Gee thanks buddy - did it take you long to mix these drinks for us?" Poe asked sardonically.

"Hey all the hipsters are drinking water these days. It's all the rage. Besides, don't you know all that coffee and carbonated shit will kill you?"

"You're a crap bartender, you know that?"

"And you're a crap singer," Finn retorted but it was very clear that he was joking, his dark eyes dancing with amusement.

"This is Rey. Rey - this clown is Finn."

"Good to meet you at last," Finn told her, giving her a playful wink. He left them alone again and Rey looked a little bit wistful. "You all seem like a family ... so close and friendly."

"To be honest they are my only family," he confided. "I don't have anybody else left - just my music my guitar and these guys."

It was true. When he had left the Navy, he'd come back to shore not knowing what things would be like for him without the regimented and structured order that military life had given him. Leia had been his salvation in a way. He had come to know the older woman well and even rather liked her husband even though he clearly had his shortcomings. In terms of their son Ben Solo, from what he could gather, he'd always been rebellious and in varying degrees of trouble even from an early age. It wasn't Poe's place to judge. He helped out as needed and didn't ask questions.

The young woman across from him had the look of someone who had learned to rely only on herself, to keep to herself.

He wasn't far from the truth. In and out of the foster care system since she was a young child, Rey had no idea who her parents were and she wasn't looking. They'd had nothing to do with the person she was today and she didn't really need to know who they were.

Despite everything, she'd made it through a high school education on pure determination alone and these days was teaching herself by auditing classes at the local college. She'd also figured out how to "access" online college courses. These days everything was available online. A little bit of tweaking here and there and she had access to pretty much every single lecture, every tutorial ... every bit of homework that you could imagine from some of the best educational institutions in the country. As somebody who loved learning, she absorbed the knowledge effortlessly.

An administrative assistant by day, by night she had access to all the knowledge in the world that she could possibly crave.

Rey looked down at her now empty glass. "I should go ... it's getting late ..."

"Can I see you to a cab? It's dark out there."

"I don't live far away," she told him. "Just down the road actually ..."

"Well I'm definitely walking you then if it's not far," he joked.

 _Loneliness_ wasn't in the best part of town so the apartments around were pretty tired and down-market looking. She hadn't been lying though when she said she didn't live far away.

"OK, well thanks again for coming and listening," he told her with a smile.

"Always ..." She hesitated and then asked,"Have you ever thought of setting up a facebook page or youtube channel for your music? Then people would know when you're performing."

"I perform every other night," he told her wryly. "I'm not really into all that tech stuff ... Finn and Jess have some sort of facebook page for the _Loneliness_ ... have a chat with them when you're next in."

"Maybe I'll do that."

"Well g'night."

"Thanks for walking me home."

"Least I can do."

"Good night," she told him shyly. Poe stood and waited, watching as Rey went into the dirty lobby of her apartment building and disappeared out of sight. 

Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, he walked back to the _Loneliness_. Standing in her window, Rey watched him walk past, shoulders slightly hunched, dark hair tousled and blowing in the wind. A rare smile curved her mouth.


	3. Where the years went I can't say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey becomes more involved in the _Loneliness_ and also Poe Dameron's singing career - and life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to post. I had it 3/4 done and languishing in my docs folder for ages!!! Sorry it's so long. I couldn't figure out where to split it.

"What are you smiling at, Rey?" Mrs Harris asked as she came out of the kitchen and saw the young woman by the window, staring down at the street. It was unusual for the generally serious Rey to be smiling. "Gentleman caller?" Mrs Harris questioned curiously.

Rey shook her head, coming over stand before the older woman, leaning down to press a kiss to her wrinkled brown cheek. "No … just had a nice evening at the _Loneliness_ tonight … I spoke with Poe Dameron," she announced with an air of contained excitement and Mrs Harris' eyebrows rose sharply in surprise.

"Well that's progress," she remarked. "What songs did he sing tonight?" she asked.

Rey wheeled Mrs Harris by the kitchen table, the floorboards creaking as the wheelchair moved across the slightly uneven surface.

"Cottage pie all right?" Rey asked.

"Better be – seeing as I've peeled the potatoes and carrots, already!" Mrs Harris told her.

As usual, Mrs Harris was treated to Rey's version of Poe Dameron's set-list, interspersed with commentary and opinions from Rey as she chopped the carrots and onions and prepared their dinner.

"Extra Worcestershire Sauce," Mrs Harris requested and Rey grinned. 

"Are you backseat cooking again, Mrs Harris?" she asked.

"No, I'd never," the woman replied with a grin as Rey added extra sauce.

"Oooh that one's one of my favourites!" Mrs Harris declared gleefully and chimed in for the chorus during one of the songs. The older woman had a beautiful low-pitched mezzo with dark creaminess in the lower registers that caused a pleasant ache in Rey's heart whenever she heard it.

As the cottage pie baked away in the oven, the two women moved into the small lounge area and Rey tidied the room and continued the informal 'concert'. "You should rest, Rey … you work too hard …"

"I should do it while I'm still in the mood," Rey remarked as she wiped down the dust with a micro-fibre cloth. She picked up each photograph on the mantle and dusted it down. Photographs of Mrs Harris' family – wherever they were… Dennis, a tall smiling youth, Trixie, a pretty, curvaceous girl with tight black curls. Dennis and Trixie as children… as babies. Rey felt like she knew them even though she'd never met them. She'd seen all their photos, heard all their stories … just never heard their voices or seen them in person.

"You should put some photos of you up there," Mrs Harris had suggested once and Rey had looked startled.

"I don't have any photos of me," she had told Mrs Harris with a shrug. None that she cared to share, anyway. There was the wide-eyed photo of her on the file at social services. The photographs on file of her bruised body. The cigarette burns and the scars on her arms and legs. Her arm, bent at an awkward angle after a run-in with a violent foster 'sibling.'

Mrs Harris' dark eyes had clouded over in sorrow as she studied the younger girl but she had pressed no further and the topic had never come up for discussion again. 

"Mmmmm mmmm that pie smells good."

"How could it not? We're an unbeatable team." With that, Rey pushed Mrs Harris' wheelchair back into the kitchen and began to set the table for dinner.

*

"Ready?" Rey asked and Mrs Harris nodded with a slight grimace of pain. Rey put her arms around the older woman and helped her shift from her wheelchair into the plastic seat they had set up in the shower. The chair was placed on top of a rubber mat to stop slippage. For modesty, Mrs Harris wore a light undershirt which she stripped off and handed to Rey after the shower curtain was drawn.

"Let me know if you need a hand," Rey remarked as put the cover of the toilet down and perched on the edge like usual, being at hand in case Mrs Harris needed her.

She smelled the rose-scented soap and shampoo favoured by Mrs Harris. "Did the nurse stop by today?" she asked.

"Yes … just before lunch."

"And?"

"Fine. You don't need to worry," Mrs Harris told her fondly. The water turned off and Rey handed a threadbare bath towel into the shower cubicle. The charade of modesty was for Mrs Harris' benefit. Over the months, she'd become a de facto nurse of sorts and as a result had pretty much seen all of the elderly invalid, but for Mrs Harris' sake, on her good days, she maintained the semblance of modesty and discretion. On the days when Mrs Harris couldn't even leave her bed, Rey would sponge bathe her and tend to all of her needs … Then she'd pretend to forget everything so that Mrs Harris didn't have to feel embarrassed.

"This isn't right, it ain't fair," a mortified Mrs Harris would sob and Rey would shush her.

"I don't mind helping," she'd comfort the older lady.

Mrs Harris had been a proud and strong woman in her younger days. Her home had been spotless. It had broken her heart to see it descend into squalor and dirtiness and it brought her great comfort that Rey tended so diligently to the apartment.

Rey wheeled Mrs Harris from the bathroom and into the bedroom, helping her from the wheelchair into her bed and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her hair for her.

She set the small silver bell on the edge of the drawers beside the bed, well within reach of Mrs Harris' hand, checked that the night light was on.

"Good night, I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, child."

An hour later, she was sitting in front of her notebook computer studying the facebook page for _The Sound of Loneliness_ with a faint frown on her brow.

*

Poe groaned as Jess and Finn made fun of him mercilessly throughout the day. "995 likes and climbing ..." Jess reported as she peered at the computer monitor behind the bar again.

"Man - you should read some of these comments, Poe," Finn told him, unholy amusement gleaming in his dark eyes.

"Publicity is good for business at any rate," Leia remarked as she sat at a table in the corner and worked on the books. "It's possible some of the people who came the other night were actually here to see Poe."

"You don't need to sound so surprised," Poe grumbled from the ground where he was crouching to repair one of the broken dishwashers in the kitchen.

"Here to see Poe sing? That's gotta be one of the signs of the apocalypse," Jess remarked provocatively and laughed when a rolled up tea towel came flying through the air, only just missing her head.

Finn and Jess had been impressed when Rey had offered to take over as admin for the _Loneliness_ 's facebook page. Until then, "minimalist" was probably the most charitable description that could be used in relation to the bare bones page. Rey had revamped it, putting up new photographs, a new menu and also linked to a freshly established youtube account.

Using her cell phone, Rey had filmed a few of Poe's performances and uploaded them onto the youtube channel.

"Even if no one was listening ... I'd still be singing," Poe had said with a laugh at the start of one of his songs, his dark eyes alight with slightly self-conscious amusement when Rey held the camera to his face.

The camera loved him and so did the Internet.

" _I'm_ listening!" declared username bb88888.

"Can I have your babies?" demanded username phantasmicgal.

"Jesus Christ," Poe muttered as he scrolled through the comments, likes and shares that seemed to be growing day by day.

Rey filmed Poe walking around the _Loneliness_ with his guitar, serenading various members of staff.

"I told you not to call me the General," Leia said severely in the direction of Poe as the camera closed in on her amused face. Poe plucked militant sounding chords in a severe march before singing one of Leia's favourite songs to her. "Get out of here, Dameron, some of us need to actually work," she told him with a fond laugh.

"Hey – no way. I don't do that folk shit," Finn retorted as Poe stood at his side singing a Jimmy MacCarthy tune. "And what the fuck is a bright blue rose?" he demanded even though when it came down to it, he knew the chorus just as well as Poe and crooned along obligingly.

"You're cute Dameron but your taste in music really sucks," Jess told him on camera but did lower herself so far as to sing a fairly tuneful version of _Wayfaring Stranger_ with him. "I only know the words because my parents listened to this kind of stuff," she said by way of explanation to the camera.

"What about you? Why do you like folk music?" Poe demanded, turning the camera around onto a very startled Rey who laughed nervously, shifted on the spot and then shrugged.

"Because it's real ... because it tells stories about real people and doesn't try to pretend to be more than it is..."

"Good answer," Poe told her, smiling at her warmly. She was dressed as she usually was. Faded jeans, scuffed trainers and a snug t-shirt that pulled across her chest with its almost non-existent breasts. He was usually a fan of women who were more endowed in the bust but Rey was on her way to changing his preferences... although he kept telling himself that she wasn't for the likes of him and to keep his distance.

She didn't make it easy. Like the others, she practically lived at the _Loneliness_ these days and even Leia was wondering if she should put the girl on staff.

*

"You're pretty good at that. Did you go to class or something?"

Rey was sitting at the bar on her notebook to edit video footage together. Poe was supposed to be fixing various broken items around the café but couldn't help himself stopping at her side from time to time to peer at what she was doing.

"Online tutorials," she told him with a smile.

"I'm impressed."

"It's the subject matter that's impressive," she told him with a shy smile and Poe shook his head modestly. "I'm not the only one who thinks so. You should see how many people have subscribed to the channel."

"It's probably all Poe," Finn whispered loudly. "Using fake accounts."

"I'm not sure he's that tech savvy," Jess mused. Poe gave her the one fingered salute.

"Children – please don't do that when we have customers around," Leia told them.

Leia posed self-consciously for a photograph as Rey insisted that everyone had to have his or her photograph on the website. "The General?" Leia demanded and Rey grinned up at her.

"Everyone calls you that," she pointed out.

"Can't wait until Maz is back from vacation. At least she uses my real name," Leia muttered beneath her breath, walking into the back room.

Finn and Jess insisted on having their photographs taken together, posing dramatically with fingers making victory symbols and lips pursed into exaggerated duck mouths - which they instantly regretted.

"No, no. That was a joke. Take the photo again," Finn insisted as Poe chuckled wickedly.

"I think we should leave the photo as is," he suggested to Rey.

"I didn't know you could actually make money from this," Finn pointed out, staring curiously at the youtube channel.

"Advertising revenue . But it's not just watching the clips - people have to be willing to sit through the ads."

"Clearly they have though if we made enough money to buy more video equipment," Jessika pointed out, staring at the number of hits that climbed by the day.

In the earlier weeks, the first photographs and videos had all been using their cell phones, which actually hadn't been too bad. It had given the footage and the photographs some of an earthy and artisan feel about them. Nonetheless, the new camera and video camera meant photographs and video footage of much better quality.

"Why are those photographs so popular?" Finn demanded, staring at a series of candid photos of Poe laughing at the camera while holding his guitar in hand. His dark eyes were alight with laughter as his tousled black hair fell away from his face.

"Poe's very photogenic," Rey pointed out.

"Poe needs to shave and cut his hair," Jessika disagreed.

"Poe's standing right here," Poe muttered beneath his breath.

More than a little bemused, Poe watched Rey painstakingly transcribe his playlists, details of his favourite songs, snippets about his motivations for singing or writing various songs and uploaded them to the website. He watched the hits and views continue to climb. There was even talk about streaming a concert on Fridays or Saturdays…

"What about you? Want to sing with me?" he asked her one day when she was humming to herself as she helped stack the dishes in the kitchen.

"Me?" she demanded, looking a little aghast.

"Yeah you," he told her and dragged her and Jess up on stage to sing _500 Miles_ with him. 

_Not a shirt on my back not a penny to my name  
Lord I can't go back home this a way…._

Although untrained, her voice was pleasant and sweet. Poe found himself completely unable to take his eyes off of her … She sang with such serious and earnest sincerity, a sharp contrast to the smirk on Jess' face as she sang that "folk shit" as she was wont to describe Poe's preferred genre of music.

With a grin, Finn filmed them and the video became ridiculously popular with the channel's subscribers despite the mournfulness of the lyrics.

"Never thought I'd actually be up on stage with you," she commented to him softly after Finn had returned the video camera to her. 

Poe stood by as she packed up her things and walked with her to the door of the _Loneliness_ wordlessly. These days he didn't even bother to ask about walking her home. He would just fall into step beside her and walk her the short distance it took to get back to her place.

They walked up three flights of stairs until they arrived at her door. He waited while she unlocked her door. "Rey? Is that Poe with you? Invite him in for a cup of tea," Mrs Harris called out to her.

Poe grinned and shrugged. "You've been told."

Poe walked in and leaned over the old lady in the wheelchair and kissed her wrinkled cheek affectionately. She peered at him. "How are you today, Mrs Harris?" he asked her politely.

"Well, as well as can be expected." She wheeled herself into the kitchen to put on the kettle as Rey closed the door and hung up her satchel up on a hook on the wall. 

"Her family?" Poe had asked once.

"She doesn't want to talk about them, so I just don't ask," Rey had told him frankly. "I'm guessing they died a long time ago …"

"What did you sing today?" Mrs Harris asked him.

"Rey can show you," Poe replied with a grin as Rey loaded up the youtube channel and cued up the video of the night's performance while she went to the kitchen to boil water.

Poe smiled as Mrs Harris began singing along and he followed Rey into the kitchen, retrieving the mugs from one of the lower cupboards. He, Finn and Jess had come by one day to install shelves lower down so that Mrs Harris could reach everything and help make things in the apartment more accessible for the old woman.

"How did you meet her?" Poe asked curiously, leaning casually against the counter, a smile on his face as he watched Mrs Harris in the other room.

"I was sitting in the park one day ... she walked by one day – this was when she was still able to get around with a cane… She fell and no one came to help her. "

"No one except you."

"No one except me," she agreed. "I helped her back to the apartment, patched up her knees and stayed with her that night to make sure she was ok. Next day, I dropped by after hearing you sing at the _Loneliness_ to make sure she was ok … she wasn't in a good way so I stayed with her and helped her through the worst of it. Eventually she asked me if I wanted to stay with her and I said yes."

"Where were you living until then?" he asked curiously.

Rey's face closed over. "Group house … which wasn't much better than foster care," she told him with a grimace. 

Poe smiled at her warmly. "I guess sometimes life has a way of surprising you - bringing people into your life that you didn't even know you needed."

Rey paused for a moment as she poured the boiling water in the teapot. It wasn't clear whether the flush on her pale skin was from the steam or from his words.


	4. Softly As The Night Was Fallin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Poe's popularity grows, so do the feelings between Poe and Rey ...
> 
> I've increased Rey's age to Daisy's age. While the age gap in the Star Wars universe doesn't really bother me given Rey's background and maturity, 19 and 32 doesn't quite sit right for me "our" time.

Poe stared down at the ground for a moment as his fingers moved over the strings of his guitar before he continued singing.

Then his gaze shifted, lifting from the floor to stare up into the audience. It was a far cry from the old days. Recently, the number of patrons at the _Loneliness_ who were there to listen to the music by far exceeded those who were there in spite of the music. After consultation with the group, Leia had decreed that they would have an open mike night on Mondays and a lineup of other singers performing during the week to give Poe time to rest his voice - although he tried to make sure he always made it up on stage to sing a couple of songs every night.

Friday and Saturday evenings were _his_ nights and the numbers tended to be a bit crazy with the coffeehouse packed to the rafters with music fans. It still blew his mind that people were coming from near and far to listen to the shaggy-haired, unshaven Poe Dameron singing folk songs written by others and by him ... On Poe's evenings, the line to get into the _Loneliness_ went around the block and there were even people standing outside the coffeehouse to listen. They had all the doors and windows open to allow the music to be heard from the sidewalk outside.

They'd taken to charging a nominal admission fee on those nights to keep the numbers manageable. It hadn't done much and there were still more wanting to come than they had room for. Leia didn't want to extend the premises and she didn't want to hire bouncers so they'd taken to streaming the Friday and Saturday concerts to cope with the demand. Tickets were bought online with a number allocated by lottery to make sure everyone got a chance to attend a live performance given that it wasn't fair to favour those who had the luxury of ordering tickets online. The demographic varied - old and young, male, female and other. Folk music was clearly still quite universal in its appeal.

The streamed concerts were free, although to cover IT and hosting costs, they charged a small fee for bonus content in the way of requests filled by Poe, goofy behind the scenes footage and interviews. With Maz back from her holidays, she and Rey helped to sort out all of the paperwork for the music licensing arrangements - online and offline and Poe's songs were doing surprisingly well in terms of online purchases. He had no CDs available for sale - only digital downloads but he was looking very respectable on the iTunes folk chart.

Rey, manning the camera, straightened as Poe looked her way and stared straight into her eyes despite the darkness. She was in darkness so it wasn't clear to her how he knew she was there, but he did and his smile widened when she smiled back at him.

Rey never missed one of his performances and as he continued singing, he gave Rey a slow smile, his eyes crinkling as he sang.

_Are you going away with no word of farewell_  
Will there be not a trace left behind?  
I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind  
You know that was the last thing on my mind. 

The camera and the audience at home thought he was singing at them and pulses raced at the sound of his melancholy voice and the sincere expression in his dark, soulful eyes.

Like many people in the room, Rey was wearing a _Loneliness_ t-shirt. It turned out that despite not being particularly advanced in terms of technology, Jess had a real gift for design, so she and Rey had put their heads together to come up with some basic merchandise or the coffee shop.

Poe had flatly refused to permit them to issue merchandise with his name or face on them.

"So - no Poe Dameron toilet paper?" Finn had joked and laughed when Poe had made a rude gesture at him.

As a result, they'd had to confine themselves to _Loneliness_ merchandise. Hoodies, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, key rings and notepads that they sold in the coffeehouse and also online. Everyone took their turn at helping to process the orders - writing personalised thank you notes for the people who ordered the merchandise.

To Mrs Harris' delight, Poe gave her a _Loneliness_ hoodie and t-shirt which she wore with pride when she watched his performances every week from the computer that Rey had set up for her at the apartment.

Rey smiled as Poe was persuaded by the enthusiastic cheers and applause of the audience to a sing a few more songs by way of an encore. Sometimes members of the audience were invited up onto the stage to sing along with him - some of them with better vocal abilities than others, but they were always enthusiastic and no matter how bad they were, it always resulted in higher hits on youtube.

"No one wants _my_ autograph," Finn remarked with feigned mournfulness as Rey walked over to the bar to get a drink.

"Maybe you need to get up on stage more often," Rey suggested, accepting the iced water with a grateful smile of thanks. Finn didn't bother asking anymore

Finn snorted. "Will leave it to Poe to be the show pony around here."

Maz Kanata came and stood at Rey's side to look at the earnings for the evening's performance and gave a low whistle. "Impressive," she remarked. "Food and drink numbers were good tonight, too. We should order more of the hoodies ... they're selling very well."

Rey had taken a liking to Maz from the first moment they'd met. She had heard so much about the woman while Maz was on holiday that it had seemed as though had always known one another. Tiny - the woman was only four foot eight and made Rey feel like a veritable giant. With her eyes blinking owlishly out from behind huge glasses, her Bohemian style of dress and her white teeth that flashed brilliantly against her dark skin, the older woman seemed almost ageless. Her management style with its earthy and charming informality contrasted with Leia's brisk, no-nonsense manner but the two women complemented one another and the two rarely disagreed on anything, as far as Rey could see.

She eschewed a _Loneliness_ hoodie or t-shirt but instead chose to wear a printed _Loneliness_ bandana around her dark hair that had been made just for her.

"Maybe we should have Poe sing a number shirtless," Maz joked as Poe approached them.

"Oh god, the horror," Jess exclaimed as she approached carrying empty plates and glasses.

"I'm a singer, not a stripper," Poe retorted, leaning down to press a dramatic kiss to the older woman's cheek. Rey received a laughing glance, more intimate than a kiss and a warm colour crept into her cheeks.

"Well? How'd I go?" he asked her when Maz had wandered off to supervise the kitchen.

"Unique hits tonight were - " Rey began reciting.

"No ... not the statistics," Poe interrupted her with a grin. "I mean - how did you like the performance tonight?"

"Oh. Well three encores ... and everyone was - "

"No ... I meant _you_ ..." he told her, slanting a grin at her, shaking his head in amusement. "What did _you_ think?"

" _Me?_ " she asked, looking very startled. "I always love your performances," she answered, as if it was obvious.

"How about the time he stuffed up the lyrics last week? Surely you didn't like that?" Finn interrupted the moment, sticking his head forward across the bar with a huge grin.

"He covered it up well ..." Rey pointed out.

"Improvisation is an art form in itself," Poe remarked loftily.

"Forgetting lyrics ... must be getting old - might need to save up for an autocue, Rey," Jess chimed in wickedly. "Can your failing eyesight cope?" she asked Poe.

"Amateurs," Poe mourned, shaking his head sadly. "I'm surrounded by amateurs." He followed Rey over to help her pack up the computer equipment after the show before he and Finn packed away the audio equipment from the stage.

"Walk you home in ten?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Mrs Harris wanted to know if you wanted to join us for dinner tonight," she asked casually, a very nonchalant expression on her face.

"Mrs Harris wanted to know?" he asked questioningly, a teasing smile on his face.

"Mrs Harris," she repeated firmly and he laughed.

"I would love to have dinner with you ... and Mrs Harris..."

*

Jess and Finn sat on the floor on the stage in the dark, leaning against one another as much as the wall, watching Rey and Poe leave.

"You hungry yet?" Finn asked. "Kitchen's keeping the leftovers warm for us - just say the word and there's a beef enchilada with your name on it..." He turned his head just slightly, breathing in the soft fragrance that Jess wore, a scent that was as familiar to him as the way her dark eyes crinkled when she laughed and the way her thick ponytail swung through the air like a lethal weapon when she tossed her head.

"Too tired to move..." Jess mumbled sleepily. "And my feet are killing me...hey that wasn't a hint," she pointed out when Finn pulled her shoes off her feet and started giving her foot rub.

"I know." He pretended to gag when her sock-clad feet were revealed and she laughed and gave him a gentle shove but leaned back and closed her eyes as he eased the tension and pain from her feet with his strong hands.

"So do you think tonight's the night?" Jess asked, yawning and indicating the door.

"Rey and Poe?" Finn demanded incredulously. "Hardly."

"Come on ... you know how Rey feels about Poe...and vice versa if you ask me.."

"Everyone knows how Rey feels about Poe," Finn replied with a shrug. "But Poe hasn't made a move on her and he probably won't."

"Not his type?" Jess questioned. "I suppose you couldn't get more different from Tamara but haven't you seen the way he looks - "

"That's not what I mean. I think our friend Poe's trying to be a gentleman."

"I guess ..." Jess' voice trailed off as she considered the thought.

"And maybe he doesn't want to say or do anything..." Finn said diffidently. "In case he fucks up a good thing ..."

Jess stared at her friend in astonishment.

"What?" Finn demanded defensively. "I can have deep thoughts, too."

Leia came out of her office and stared at her two staff-members, a fond expression on her face. "You two all right down there?"

"Just dandy," Jess replied, feeling a bit self-conscious as she sat sprawled on the floor with one of her feet in Finn's hands.

The two young people spent most of their time at the _Loneliness_... partly because they had nowhere else to go but partly because they didn't have anywhere else they actually _wanted _to be. They called Leia the General but they might as well have called her mom... and Maz was an aunt of sorts - their faintly eccentric, bossy but ultimately lovable aunt.__

__"'sup, General?" Finn asked her and Leia sighed and handed him a note with her handwriting scrawled on it._ _

__"More media inquiries ... can you handle them for me, Finn?" The increased popularity of the coffeehouse had led to increased publicity and attention from magazines, online publications and newspapers. Leia didn't like dealing with journalists at all. They always wanted a sensational story ... they distorted the facts ... The most innocuous of stories always managed to mention her estranged husband ... her junkie son ..._ _

__"Consider it done," Finn nodded, comprehension on his face._ _

__"Thank you, Finn," Leia replied gratefully._ _

__"We'll lock up when we're done," Jess told her and Leia nodded and left the two young people to continue sitting on the floor in the dark._ _

__*_ _

__Standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder at the sink, Rey was washing up and Poe was in charge of the drying. It felt domestic ... and very comfortable. He'd stopped over at the small apartment many times for a coffee, a tea, a light snack ... but Rey had never taken the extra step of inviting him to stay for dinner before. It felt significant._ _

__Over dinner, Mrs Harris' smile had been so broad and full of approval as she beamed at the two of them that Poe had wondered how she'd managed to actually eat anything._ _

__"I've never eaten dinner to the sound of my own voice before," Poe had remarked, clearing his throat after a while, referring to the musical selection chosen by Mrs Harris._ _

__"Well Mrs Harris _is_ your biggest fan. Thinking of appointing her president of your fan club," Rey had joked, grinning up at him._ _

__"Good, it's about time we sacked Jess from that role. I mean it might be me, but I just don't feel like she takes the position seriously enough," Poe had quipped._ _

__Rey dried her hands and turned around, colliding abruptly into Poe's chest as he came forward to set down the dish cloth he had been holding._ _

__"Woah," he laughed, steadying her with his strong hands. The laughter vanished from his dark eyes as his hands rested lightly on her arms. As usual, she wore long sleeves but he could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric. His face was very close to hers and if she moved forward just the slightest distance, she could have brushed her lips against his. Instead, she reached up and rested the palm of her hand against his cheek, smiling at the rasp of his stubble against her skin._ _

__Weeks ... months had passed ... they saw each other every day ... talked about so many things ... sang about so many things, but they'd never touched before now. Poe turned his head slightly, pressing a kiss into the palm of her hand, closing his eyes for a long moment before opening them again..._ _

__Rey's heart was pounding loudly. Her pulse felt loud in her ears and her breathing quickened as she stared into Poe's dark eyes. Her lips parted to speak but then a loud sound in the other room made them pull away from one another abruptly._ _

__They went running into the other room where a rueful Mrs Harris was attempting to make her way into the bathroom. "I was trying so hard not to disturb you," she exclaimed in frustration and both Rey and Poe laughed._ _

__"Allow me, ma'am," Poe declared and picked up the old woman as if she weighed nothing at all and carried her into the bathroom. "Summon me when you're done," he called through the door._ _

__"Do you need a hand to get her into the shower tonight?" Poe asked Rey in a low voice and she shook her head._ _

__"I should be all right - but thanks," she told him sincerely._ _

__"What are your plans for tonight?" he asked her casually._ _

__"Got some paperwork from the office ... then just need to do some web admin for your next performance," she replied. "You?"_ _

__"Working on a new song," he told her. "If you're still online tonight ... I'll play it for you over Skype."_ _

__After he had carried Mrs Harris back out of the bathroom, Rey walked outside the apartment with him to the lift area. While Mrs Harris' apartment was spotless, the building as a whole was grubby, the trash cans overflowing, the ground scuffed and dirty. On more than one occasion, a police car could be seen parked out the front._ _

__The light in the common area was flickering. "Maybe I'll just come and fix it myself tomorrow," Poe remarked, staring up at the bulb with disfavour._ _

__"I've called central management several times ..."_ _

__"OK, I'll be back with a bulb tomorrow," told her._ _

__"Thank you," she said softly._ _

__"Thanks for dinner," he told her, his hand reaching out to touch her cheek and then stopping himself at the last minute._ _

__"My face dirty or something?" she asked questioningly._ _

__He laughed. "No. just decided against it."_ _

__"Why?" her voice was blunt._ _

__Poe smiled crookedly. "Rey ... you're 24 .. I'm 32 ... I'm ... too old for you."_ _

__Her eyebrow shot up. "Really?"_ _

__Poe winced. "OK that came out real patronising ... I didn't mean ... I mean I know you have an old soul but ..."_ _

__Rey gave a short laugh. "Now _that's_ patronising..." She held up a hand. "Don't say you're sorry."_ _

__"Crap," he muttered and she laughed._ _

__"Relax," she told him, her smile crooked. "This old soul isn't asking you to marry her ... not even asking you to exchange friendship bracelets with her ... or braid each other's hair ..."_ _

__"What are you asking for, then?" he asked her, a gentle and tender smile on his face as he found himself leaning in towards her despite all of his best intentions. The hallway light flickered again and almost went out but he could see her mouth curved in a tantalising smile._ _

__"What we have is nice," she told him._ _

__"It's very nice..." he agreed. They were almost the same height, so it took little effort to lean in further and allow his lips to brush against hers lightly._ _

__Her lips clung to his for a moment and then parted as she clutched his shirtfront boldly and pulled him closer. His tongue slid past her lips and she made a sound in her throat as his arms went around her and he kissed her properly. Desire washed over him like a wave as she melted into his arms, a sound of pleasure in her throat._ _

__He was the first to pull back, slightly breathless and more than a little startled. Rey's face was flushed, her mouth red, swollen and damp._ _

__"Kissing with tongue - also very nice," she told him approvingly as she studied his eyes that were dark and a little wild with arousal. "Good night Poe," she told him with a faint smile on her mouth before going back inside the apartment and closing the door._ _

__Poe stared at the closed door for a few long seconds before leaving. The evening hadn't gone quite the way he had expected._ _

__His mouth curved. He wasn't complaining._ _


	5. Where The Rivers Change Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they watched, Poe leaned forward and whispered something in Rey's ear which made her laugh, her hand reaching up to rest on his arm.  
> Without looking away, Jess stuck her hand out expectantly and Finn shook his head in disgust, digging his hand into his pocket and pulling out a fifty dollar bill which he put in her hand.  
> "Never, ever bet against a Pava," she told him loftily.  
> "Yeah, I'm beginning to get that ."

_You held me down but I got up_  
Get ready 'cause I've had enough  
I see it all, I see it now 

_I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter_  
Dancing through the fire  
'Cause I am a champion  
And you're gonna hear me roar. 

Rey laughed out loud in delighted surprise as she listened to Poe singing a folksy rendition of the Katy Perry song to an equally startled audience. His voice was light and playful, the tone teasing and mischievous and the audience started clapping along to the beat without any encouragement necessary.

Poe's eyes met Rey's in shared amusement and she inclined her head slightly, her mouth still curved in a smile.

"Katy Perry?" Jess asked him quizzically when his set was over. "Never would have pegged you for a fan."

"I have layers, Jess." He shared another smile with Rey, causing Jess to elbow Finn sharply in the ribs.

"Geez Jess, that hurt!" he exclaimed, rubbing his side and looking around. "Why are you doing that with your face?" he demanded as she started pulling indiscreet faces and gesturing rather unsubtly at Rey and Poe who were standing by the bar talking in low voices. As Finn and Jess watched, Poe reached out and brushed Rey's hair out of her eyes, allowing his fingers to linger on her cheek for a long moment.

"Shit," Finn muttered.

As they watched, Poe leaned forward and whispered something in Rey's ear which made her laugh, her hand reaching up to rest on his arm.

Without looking away, Jess stuck her hand out expectantly and Finn shook his head in disgust, digging his hand into his pocket and pulling out a fifty dollar bill which he put in her hand.

"Never, ever bet against a Pava," she told him loftily.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to get that ."

*

The door of the _Loneliness_ opened despite the CLOSED sign and a tall, lanky young man with dark hair strode in arrogantly. Poe was up on stage but warming up in preparation for the evening's performance but everyone else paused in whatever they were doing and stared nervously at the newcomer.

Rey was busy adjusting the video camera and looked up questioningly at the stranger whose gaze moved over her critically. He was pale-skinned with strong features that were almost harsh.

"Another one of my mother's many strays, I see," the dark-haired man said, his lip curling with contempt.

Rey flinched.

"Ben!" Leia's voice was stern.

"What?" Ben demanded, spreading out his hands. "I always love how you over-compensate mom. Your own son is a wash-out so you go around giving your love to every stray dog that comes in off the street. Is it penance?" His gaze raked over Poe, Finn, Jess and Rey with equal disdain.

"Good to see you again, too," Poe told him coolly. "Charming as ever. First day out?"

"Yes and of course I stopped her to see mommy dearest - my first port of call."

"Asshole," Jess muttered beneath her breath, walking past.

"Shut up," Finn hissed at her fiercely. His relationship with Leia's son was awkward at best. Violently hostile at worst and he didn't want to do anything to exacerbate an already uneasy situation. He still had the scar on his back as a reminder of how unpredictable his boss' son could be.

"Make yourself useful," Poe told him and shoved a spare guitar at him. The look on Ben Solo's face was almost comical.

 _"What?"_ he demanded.

"You get to be the guest star tonight. We stream the performance online."

"You mean someone actually wants to watch this shit?" Ben demanded in disbelief.

"You'd be surprised. I know I was," Poe told him and with an ungentle shove, pushed him towards the stage.

A little reluctantly, the younger man acceded and made his way to the stage and sat down on the second stool up on stage.

"Jesus fucking Christ, you have got to be kidding, Dameron," Ben muttered when with a grin on his face, Poe started strumming the opening chords of the Kenny Rogers' classic 'The Gambler.' "This is worse than rehab." he told the other man.

Nonetheless, he joined in as if he and Poe had always sung together, his face serious as he sang along. His voice was pleasant and his playing style restrained and it was clear that despite his protestations he enjoyed the music.

_And somewhere in the darkness_  
The gambler he broke even  
But in his final words  
I found an ace that I could keep . 

The _Loneliness_ was already full and the audience joined in enthusiastically for the chorus and Ben Solo's face was equal parts bemusement and sheepishness as he sang the old country classic.

Leia leaned against the wall and watched her son, her dark eyes shining with tears as he sang. He glanced up at her and then looked away quickly, face cold and shuttered again. He was persuaded to sing another song with Poe and then another. By the end of the evening, the online audience were requesting encore after encore and an exhausted Poe and Ben both laughingly refused to sing anymore.

"Look at my fingers guys - they're raw from lack of practice," Ben told the audience, holding up his fingertips.

"Please thank tonight's guest, Ben Solo," Poe told the camera, gesturing at Ben with a nod of his head.

"Am I allowed to hug the guest singer?" Leia asked Ben as he walked towards the bar.

"Only if I get something stronger than water," he told her sardonically. She handed him a glass.

"Orange juice?" he demanded in disgust.

"No booze for Skywalkers or Solos in this joint," she told him coolly and he snorted and then stood awkwardly as Leia put her arms around him and hugged him.

On the far side of the café, Rey was watching Leia and her son, a curious expression on her face.

"It's a very complicated relationship," Poe told her.

"I can tell," she remarked. "Subscription to the channel is going through the roof," she told him. "Drowning" is number one on the folk charts on iTunes."

"Thanks to you," he told her.

"I don't trust him one bit," Jess muttered beneath her breath as she dumped a trayful of empty glasses on the bar, glaring at Ben Solo warily.

"Jess."

"Don't you _Jess_ me. You're going to have that scar on your back until the day you die. Forgive me if I'm not in the 'he can be saved through the power of song' camp ..."

"He was off his face when he did that . people do crazy shit when they're on drugs. I'm not going to hold that against him," Finn told her firmly. "He's the General's son and . well she loves him."

"Doesn't mean we have to," Jess replied stubbornly.

*

"Make yourself useful, Solo," Jess bit out, shoving the bucket and mop at Ben Solo. He opened his mouth as if to reply but thought better of it and picked up the bucket and walked into the corner to start cleaning the floor.

"Impressive," Finn remarked to Jess.

"Mind control, it's a wonderful thing," Jess joked.

Meanwhile, across the room, Poe and Leia were going through the accounts. "Is he using again, do you think?" Leia asked in a low voice.

Poe shook his head. "I don't think so."

Leia exhaled slowly. Ben had been coming to the _Loneliness_ every day since being discharged from rehab. Quiet, awkward and a little withdrawn he mostly kept to himself, helping out almost begrudgingly when asked.

"I catch you touching a drop of booze and you're out of here," Leia told her son firmly. "If I can resist - so can you."

"But I'm not as heroic as you, mom - wasn't that always the problem?"

"I read the letter from the clinic ... you did well this time. You're a hero to me," she told him earnestly. The words would have sounded fake if anyone else had said them, but Leia meant them and Ben knew it. 

Ben Solo wasn't much one for the limelight and usually went up on stage with Poe if he needed a second guitar, a second voice to sing harmony ... He usually kept his head ducked down, avoiding the lights and the camera, looking extremely ill at ease if audience members shouted his name.

"He reminds me of a wild animal," Rey murmured one day when they were sitting in her tiny room, side by side on her bed, backs against the wall as Poe strummed on his guitar.

"He's a bit like that ..." Poe agreed, putting the guitar to one side and smiled lazily as Rey leaned into him, swinging her stockinged legs off the floor so that they draped across his lap. Her forehead rested against his as he put his arm around her narrow shoulders and closed his eyes momentarily, enjoying the nearness of her.

His mouth sought hers, tasting of her and kissed her hungrily as his hand slipped beneath her faded t-shirt. "Mrs Harris?" he muttered thickly.

"Is in her room playing the news at almost maximum volume so she doesn't hear anything," Rey whispered with a giggle.

"Oh lord … she thinks that we're already – "

"She hasn't asked."

"She's an enabler," Poe muttered, allowing his hand to slide down the length of Rey's slender leg, lingering on the smoothness of her skin before coming to rest on her ankle.

"Just romantic," Rey told him. "It's her birthday this Friday. I was wondering if you could sing happy birthday for her during your performance."

"I think we can do a bit better than that," Poe mused.

*

"What am I doing here?" Ben demanded testily, glancing around the building suspiciously.

"It's Mrs H's birthday – she's been watching from home. We're going to take her to the _Loneliness_ so that she can watch a performance in person," Finn told him as they ran up the stairs to the apartment building.

"Happy Birthday Mrs Harris," Poe told the old woman warmly, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Happy Birthday Mrs H," Finn told her, also kissing her, as did Jess.

"Mrs Harris – this is Ben. He's the General's son," Rey introduced them.

"I've seen all your performances!" Mrs Harris exclaimed ecstatically, genuine pleasure in her face and Ben went from looking extremely sullen to extremely embarrassed, a faint flush on his pale face.

"Ready?" Rey asked her and she nodded.

Ben glanced around the apartment curiously, staring at the photographs, the cleanness of the apartment despite its shabbiness. 

"Come on, let's go," Poe nudged him and he followed behind as Finn wheeled Mrs Harris into the lift. 

After that, the three men helped to carry Mrs Harris in her wheelchair down the stairs of the apartment building. It took considerable effort, manoeuvring and swearing as the stairs were not designed for wheelchairs, explaining why Mrs Harris almost never left the apartment these days except for the days when the community nurse took her by bus to the clinic for her check up.

"Don't drop her!" Jess exclaimed.

"Do you want to come and help?" Finn demanded with asperity as the three men managed to get her down the stairs and onto the footpath.

"Shit, this footpath fucking sucks," Ben muttered, staring at the uneven ground, the weeds and the litter everywhere that was going to make it almost impossible to wheel the chair along the ground.

"Potty mouth," Poe told him sternly, glancing over towards Mrs Harris who pretended she had heard nothing.

"I'll go and get my car …" 

"There's not enough time before the show starts," Poe shook his head. "We can do this," he announced as they realised that they were going to have to carry her wheelchair like a sedan-chair down the road.

Half an hour later, they were at the door of the _Loneliness_ , drenched in sweat. "We're going to drive you back, don't you worry about that," Poe assured the old lady who looked mortified at having caused such inconvenience.

Maz and Leia watched with smiles on their face as the wheelchair was carried into the _Loneliness_ and Mrs Harris looked around with wondering eyes.

"Happy birthday – and welcome," Leia told her warmly, coming forward to take her hand.

"Guest of honour sits here," Poe declared as he wheeled her chair before the stage where she had the perfect view of the whole performance. 

"You'll sing with me tonight, won't you?" Poe asked Rey, taking her hand and drawing her closer to him. She looked a little uncertain. 

"There are a lot of people here …"

"And none of them matter except Mrs Harris."

It wasn't as nerve-wracking as she had feared. Despite it being the usual full house, Mrs Harris' beaming face in the front row and the expression of encouragement in Poe's dark eyes was all she saw. 

_The guilty undertaker sighs_  
The lonesome organ grinder cries  
The silver saxophones say I should refuse you  
The cracked bells and washed-out horns  
Blow into my face with scorn, but it's  
Not that way, I wasn't born to lose you 

_I want you_  
I want you  
I want you, so bad  
Honey, I want you … 

Poe was looking right at Rey when he sang Dylan's words and Rey felt a blush warm her cheeks. 

"And it's a special evening tonight for a special member of the audience," Poe announced at the end of the evening."

Happy Birthday was sung by everyone in the coffeehouse to a delighted Mrs Harris as Leia and Maz carried out a large cake decorated with a great many candles.

"Thank you," Rey mouthed at Poe who was standing at the other end of the stage.

"You're welcome," he mouthed back.

*

"I'm sorry, I might have eaten too much cake," Mrs Harris mumbled remorsefully as they carried her back down the street to her apartment after the performance. 

"No, not at all," Finn puffed as he hoped his lungs didn't explode.

"It was good cake," Ben remarked in an attempt to reassure her although he did groan a little as they contemplated the stairs leading up to the apartment.

"You all have to come in for a rest and a cold drink," Mrs Harris insisted and Poe, Rey, Jess, Ben and Finn shuffled into the small apartment and collapsed onto the sofa and various sofas while Mrs Harris fussed over them.

Ben looked at the glass of ice tea in his hand with a faintly twisted smile on his wide mouth but he raised it to his lips and drank deeply. "Thank you," he told the old woman politely and she beamed at him.

"You have a beautiful voice," she complimented him and there was a faint flush on his pale skin.

"On your feet, Pava," Finn told her. "We still have to head back and clean up the bar," he told her reaching his hand down to pull his groaning friend to her feet. "You, too Solo – the floors won't clean themselves."

"Good night," Mrs Harris called out. "Thank you again," she said warmly, tears gleaming in her yes.

She locked the door behind them and then turned and smiled at the two young people standing before her. "It was the best birthday I've ever had. But now I'm exhausted … I think I'll go to my room – and turn up my music very, very loudly …"

With that, she wheeled herself into her bedroom with a mischievous smile curving her mouth and closed the door firmly.

"Well that was subtle," Poe muttered, feeling very awkward.

Rey laughed and turned out the light in the lounge before reaching out and taking his hand in hers. Wordlessly he followed her into her room and watched as she turned on the small light beside her bed.

"Rey – " She put a finger on his lips, hushing him. 

"If you're going to tell me that you're so much older than I am – don't waste your breath," she told him.

His eyes widened as she reached down and pulled her t-shirt over her head. His pupils dilated as his gaze rested, mesmerised on her pale skin, the soft swell of her small breasts in her bra.

He didn't resist when she pulled his t-shirt from the waistband of his jeans and shrugged it off, tossing it onto the floor.

"You sure?" he asked her softly, his voice husky with desire and love.

Her answer was to slide her arms around his neck and kiss him hungrily. With a low laugh, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. 

The bed was narrow and uncomfortable but neither of them noticed.

"Wow, that music sure is loud …" he remarked, suddenly distracted.

"I guess she's expecting us to be loud …"

"No pressure .." he muttered

"None at all …" she agreed.

It turned out that it was extremely lucky that Mrs Harris had turned the volume up so high …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low key ending to what started out as a low key scribble in response to [this gifset](http://jojendreams.tumblr.com/post/138345662153/star-wars-au-poe-dameron-is-a-struggling-folk) At one point I had toyed with having poor Mrs Harris get ill or even die - but then decided I didn't want to make her suffer just for the sake of unnecessary drama.


End file.
